By Marc J. Yacht
One Act Play
John Gardner - 55 years of age
Melissa - 19 years of age
Marge Gardner – 51 years of age
Fred - 40 years of age
Martha – 38 years of age
Time: Now
Act one
Scene 1
(Half stage dimly lit, left)
Takes place in a small office inside a McDonald’s
restaurant, at
John: (White
Spot on J.G. phone rings – J.G. picks up phone) Port Richey McDonald’s, Gardner
here…..Lisa? How is my sister?…..The
kids?….Jake?…..That’s good to hear…..
We’re fine, usual stuff. What’s
up?….Another one? I got three working
for me now…….I guess I could put her in the Gulf View location….. You know I
have to think of staff safety ….(John shakes his head looks up towards
ceiling). What about Charley down at Wal-Mart, it’s easier to hide people
there….Stock room duty, that kind of thing….My people are serving customers, in
plain view….. I know, (John taps pencil on desk impatiently) one tale is
worse than another…………That’s terrible….Alright – OK…..I’ll put her to work,
help her get a place. Marge and I can
put her up until she gets settled…. Two
infants, well that’s an improvement, the last one had three wild maniacs. Fax Fred a picture, I’ll have him pick her up
at the bus stop – when is she coming in?.…
She’s on the bus, from
(Phone rings
several times, Spot on Fred enters in pajamas
Down Rt. forward of closed curtain, there is a phone next to fax with
lamp on table. Dim spot on John)
Fred: Hello….
John: (full spot on each) It’s John sorry to bother you so late.
Fred: (still waking) Yeh John, (yawning) What’s up?
John: We got one coming in. Can you get to the bus station? I’m stuck here.
Fred: When she coming? How will I know her?
John: Lisa is sending a fax to you now. You can’t miss her, she’s beat up and carrying her twin babies.
Fred: Remember the last one with the wild Indians.
John: Don’t remind me. I had to replace a bed and a set of dishes. I still can’t get the dog to come into the house.
Fred: What time?
John:
Fred: That late, figures. The fax is comin’ in. (Fred retrieves, looks at Fax, shocked expression )Her face, John---oh my! I’ll get her to your house….Bye (hangs up. Spot out, John ).
Martha: (Martha enters in night gown and walks to Fred) Sounds like another one. I’ll go with you.
Fred: Take a
look at this. (Fred passes Fax to
Martha)
Martha: The horrible creep that did this. (shakes her head) She’s so young.
Fred: Let’s get dressed; we have some time before we leave for the station.
Martha: First,
I’ll make some coffee. It’s going to
be a long night. (Both exit, stage dark, down stage props removed)
Scene 2
Open Curtain – lights up – Fred, Martha John, Marge, and Melissa sit at kitchen table. There are coffee and cookies on the table. Twin infants are asleep in carrier next to Melissa. Tote bag and suitcase are in plain view.
Melissa: (attractive teen with arm in sling and swollen eye and lip, other visible bruises.) I’m so embarrassed. I don’t even know you.
Marge: (Very
soft spoken, friendly) John and I have worked with domestic violence
shelters for a long time. Consider
yourself family. (Others nod in agreement.
Marge pours coffee, John cheerfully offers cookies to Melissa which she
takes.)
Melissa: (Puts cookie down and breaks into tears) I don’t know what to do. I’ve never worked a day in my life. Lisa said, I had to leave him, that George might kill me.
John: (With compassion) It’s OK Melissa, everything will be fine. Have your snack. I can tell you this, Lisa knows what she’s talking about.
(Melissa stares straight ahead, brushes a tear and slowly picks up a cookie).
Melissa: She told me weeks ago to get out. I should have listened. Look at me. I can’t believe he hurt me like this. We were High School sweethearts. He was so wonderful. What did I do?
Martha: Nothing, Melissa, you cannot blame yourself for a crazy husband. Don’t forget, you have the babies to think about.
Fred: What about your parents?
Melissa: They love George. After all, he was the quarterback of the football team-- the town hero. I was lucky to get him. The first time I showed mom and dad my bruises, they told me to be a better wife.
John: He beat
you up often?
Melissa: For about a year now. The first time he was so sorry. I remember I went shopping with a couple of my friends and it got sort of late. He was there when I got home and wanted to know where I’d been. I told him, but he said it was a lie and smacked me hard. He never did that before.
Marge: What happened then?
Melissa: He seemed sort of shocked when I fell and hit my head. I could tell he had been drinkin.’ It’s those friends of his. Every night he drinks with them before he comes home. Anyway, he was sorry, and the next day he brought me flowers. I said I was sorry for makin’ him worry. Things were quiet until I told him I was pregnant.
Fred: He didn’t want you to have children?
Melissa: (With pride) Oh no, George loves children. We’ve been trying to have a baby for over a year. I shouldn’t have told him when I knew he’d been drinking. I should have waited till the morning. (With sadness, remorse) It was my fault. I don’t know what set him off, but the next thing I know I am in the ER and he’s whisperin’ in my ear that I should tell the Doc’ I fell. I didn’t want any trouble, and George is so well known and all. I am lucky to have him.
John: How did you get to Lisa?
Melissa: Things
weren’t too bad until the twins were born. One night they were cryin’ and keepin’
him up. He hit me pretty good and I went
to the ER with a broken jaw. The nurse took me aside and gave me Lisa’s
number. It took me a couple of months and
another one of his beatings to call her.
I guess when he started screamin’ at the babies and shakin’ them for
cryin’, I knew I had to do something. (Breaks down crying, silence)
Fred: (breaks tension) Did I tell you what happened to Martha and the cat?
Martha: (Waving finger at Fred) Don’t you dare!!
Marge: (smiling) The cat again? I want to hear this. How bout you John?
John: (Already laughing) Oh, I want to hear this, absolutely.
Melissa: (raises her head and looks at Fred with a smile, wipes tears) I love cats, I want to hear.
Fred: (Smug) You know how Martha hates having the cat in the house.
Martha: (arms folded, scolding) Not fair Fred, not fair.
Fred: Some how the crazy cat got upstairs and old Martha here gives the feline that evil eye of hers. Well that cat takes off down the stairs like a bat out of hell.
Fred: Martha’s got that big old mirror that she hates, leaning against the wall at the bottom of the steps, waiting for Good Will to pick it up.
Martha: This is cruel, very cruel (leans back in
chair).
Fred: The mirror sits in a way that reflects the open kitchen door from the stairs. That poor cat thinks the reflection is a door and sails down the stairs and crashes right into it. It was knocked cold as a mackerel.
Martha: I was sure that cat was dead and called Fred. I felt terrible.
Fred: Martha was very upset, so I came home and found her holding this limp cat. She was crying like a baby. While I am standing there observing all this, the cat starts to move around a bit, jumps out of her arms, and dashes out the front door. We haven’t seen that cat since.
Martha: I thought I killed that old cat, I was devastated.
(All laugh, including Melissa)
John: Why don’t we all get some sleep. (Looks at Melissa) Marge will get you
and the babies squared away and we’ll talk in the morning. (Looks at Fred) Fred, you got to open
the restaurant on
Fred: Good idea, come on Martha. (Martha and Fred exit Stage left)
John: Those Babies are so cute and behaved. Are they identical twins?
Melissa: (Proud) Sure are, they look just like George. He’s really a good person. It’s just when he starts drinkin’with those loser friends of his. Also, he’s in the office early in the mornin’, and workin’ for your father is no picnic.
Marge: (moving the dishes to the sink, Melissa helps) Was he your first boyfriend?
Melissa: (beaming) The only one I ever had. His family owns the Ford dealership. He’s the Vice President and Manager of Sales. (Sad demeanor)) I just don’t understand. Lisa says it’s not me. He just gets so violent.
Scene 3
(Curtain Up, stage
lights up)
(Breakfast, Marge
and Melissa sit at the table, Infant carrier with twins next to Melissa, John
is already at work)
Melissa: (Cheerful)
You have such a pretty house.
Ours’ is nice too. George and his
father built it on the family’s property.
It’s a
Marge: I’ll
bet it’s beautiful. This one is big, but
it’s kind of old. Not too modern, I’m
afraid. But then again, I’m not much for
modern. (Marge sips her coffee)
Melissa: (fearful, sad) What am I to do? George has been my whole life. What will become of me? What will happen to my children?
Marge: (Goes over and plays with babies) Oh, they’re so cute. It’s been a long time since we had babies in this house.
Marge: (With
pride) Not any more, they’re all grown up. One, Bill, is a lawyer in
Melissa: You must miss them.
Marge: (pensive) I sure do.(Perks up) Anyway, you’ll be fine. John is a great boss. By the time he’s done with you, you’ll be able to run Ford Motor Company!
Melissa: (smiles) Wouldn’t that be something.’ George callin’ me up wantin’ to know where his deliveries are. (Melissa turns sullen). Who am I foolin’, I’m just a nobody. George was a catch, from one of the richest families in town. I must have been crazy to leave.
Marge: You’d have been nuts to stay. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You look like you went 10 rounds with a heavyweight. Anyway, I got instructions. We got things to do today, so let’s finish up. Besides, feeling sorry, is not on the agenda. How did you meet this George anyway?
Melissa: Well, George might have been good at football, but I was the smartest in the class. George was, what you might say, having some academic difficulties. So the coach offered me some money to tutor George. It had to be all hush, hush. My friends likely went crazy when the word got out. I’ll tell you, all their grades came up in the next quarter, hopin’ they could help him too.
Marge: How’d he do?
Melissa: We studied all right, and his grades came up all right, but I got to tell you, we did a lot more than study the books. As George used to say, ‘All fun and no play,’ well you know what I mean. Anyway, the coach was happy, George was happy, and I was ecstatic.
Marge: Didn’t George want to go to college?
Melissa: More
than anything else in the world, but it wasn’t meant to be. He took a bad hit in the last game of his
senior year, and tore up his knee. He
was all set to go to
Marge: What about you, why didn’t you go to college?
Melissa: That was my plan before I met George. I belonged to the writers club, and the Drama society. I also played flute in the school orchestra. I was thinkin’ about being a journalist. As my Daddy said, a women’s place is with her husband. Mom and Dad didn’t see any need for me to go to college when I was about to marry a boy like George. So much for college!
Marge: Well, we got to meet Sally at the shelter, she will arrange your new identity along with some other things. I don’t have to tell you, considering who George is; he will leave no stone unturned to find you. You can’t use credit cards or write checks. But Sally will explain all that to you.
Melissa: Isn’t all this illegal?
Marge: We
don’t see it quite that way, and usually things get quietly worked out on the
other end. Lisa handles that stuff. Anyway, let’s go. (exit S.L., curtain
down, lights out)
Scene 4
4 Months later.
(John in office
again, midnight, D.L. Curtain down,
phone rings, Spot on John)
John: (John
picks up phone)
John: Fred? Yeh, it’s John. She’s on the bus.
End